Do not like. The colors definitely do not work for me and the blue stripe smacks of photoshop add-on more than a realistic war stripe applied by her clan or whatnot. And I'm not even mentioning the dots in the hair - I'm not, I'm not, I'm not...
The good, however, is the setting and 'feel' of the portrait. It also gives variety, so those who do like the style can use it and be happy. I'm just not one of that group.
Thank you all for the great comments, criticism and feedback. It is an honor to work on this project, as BG was of the first games I contributed to in my career.
The portraits were painted to be viewed game resolution and icon sized, not larger, so thank you so much for scaling them down and looking at them that way. You can see that the suggestion of shapes and brushy patterns will fall into view as jewelry or clothing parts when viewed at the size they are intended for use.
It is great to see everyone's thoughts. Thank you. To be honest, I have been so busy building www.theartdepartment.org after a decade creating and running Massive Black (then Brilliant Colors), that it was an absolute joy to get back in and paint these for you all. It has been too long. Thanks to Trent and team Beamdog for seeing this project to a reality. You all are in for a treat with the new levels and all the new work.
As far as the style, when they are shrunk down to game size they are much closer, but add an additional depth of color and mood that is missing from the portraits in the game. That was a purposeful choice, to broaden the options available, to add depth, and to improve quality.
I cannot wait to play this. I need a good break and it has been far too long since real RPG's were coming out like the used to. I am sure you all miss them as much as I do. Super stoked for the future as it seems like things are coming back again! Super stoked to see this project coming along.
Best,
Jason Manley Artist Founder/President www.theartdepartment.org www.conceptart.org Brilliant Colors
As far as the style, when they are shrunk down to game size they are much closer, but add an additional depth of color and mood that is missing from the portraits in the game. That was a purposeful choice, to broaden the options available, to add depth, and to improve quality.
"missing from the portraits in the game."
Gag me with a spoon. The original portraits are bloody fantastic. I'm sorry that you can't see their beauty, but accusing them of missing color and/or mood? Mood perhaps, but color, heck no, they had tons of color and yours' have less if anything. Am I missing something here?
(Btw; if you actually DO read this; I do appreciate what you're doing, sorry to come off as disrespectful. And I know a lot of people will really enjoy your artwork in the EE, so, kudos.)
As far as the style, when they are shrunk down to game size they are much closer, but add an additional depth of color and mood that is missing from the portraits in the game. That was a purposeful choice, to broaden the options available, to add depth, and to improve quality.
"missing from the portraits in the game."
Gag me with a spoon. The original portraits are bloody fantastic. I'm sorry that you can't see their beauty, but accusing them of missing color and/or mood? Mood perhaps, but color, heck no, they had tons of color and yours' have less if anything. Am I missing something here?
(Btw; if you actually DO read this; I do appreciate what you're doing, sorry to come off as disrespectful. And I know a lot of people will really enjoy your artwork in the EE, so, kudos.)
If you have to apologize for being disrespectful in the same post you're being disrespectful, it might be a better idea to be more polite in the first place imho.
Dont get me wrong, I agree with you...but, srsly? >.>
(Just incase im coming off the wrong way, im just joshing you man,. maybe its cause its so late, but i am highly amused by your word usage.)
I'm sorry if I sound pretentious but I'm aghast by the "paesant" reactions, don't you guys really have no sense of etiquette and politeness? First one BG fan asks for gagging with a spoon and a 2nd one is being "highly amused" by such oh-so-funny comment on Jason's picture. Really a shame.
Having color is different from having depth of color.
Personally, I like Jason's portraits better than the original ones from BG1. I'm reserving judgment until I see the rest before I decide whether I like them better than the ones in BG2 (I probably won't; I happen to like the BG2 portraits a lot), but I agree that the originals didn't have a whole lot of depth to their color.
Now I'm going to go hide before the hordes come to tear my head off.
Dont get me wrong, I agree with you...but, srsly? >.>
(Just incase im coming off the wrong way, im just joshing you man,. maybe its cause its so late, but i am highly amused by your word usage.)
I'm sorry if I sound pretentious but I'm aghast by the "paesant" reactions, don't you guys really have no sense of etiquette and politeness? First one BG fan asks for gagging with a spoon and a 2nd one is being "highly amused" by such oh-so-funny comment on Jason's picture. Really a shame.
As far as the style, when they are shrunk down to game size they are much closer, but add an additional depth of color and mood that is missing from the portraits in the game. That was a purposeful choice, to broaden the options available, to add depth, and to improve quality.
"missing from the portraits in the game."
Gag me with a spoon. The original portraits are bloody fantastic. I'm sorry that you can't see their beauty, but accusing them of missing color and/or mood? Mood perhaps, but color, heck no, they had tons of color and yours' have less if anything. Am I missing something here?
(Btw; if you actually DO read this; I do appreciate what you're doing, sorry to come off as disrespectful. And I know a lot of people will really enjoy your artwork in the EE, so, kudos.)
If you have to apologize for being disrespectful in the same post you're being disrespectful, it might be a better idea to be more polite in the first place imho.
Fair enough. I should probably have worked harder to sound less hostile. I get easily offended when people trample all over my precious BG1. Not a good excuse, I'm just saying that's why it happened.
Dont get me wrong, I agree with you...but, srsly? >.>
(Just incase im coming off the wrong way, im just joshing you man,. maybe its cause its so late, but i am highly amused by your word usage.)
I'm sorry if I sound pretentious but I'm aghast by the "paesant" reactions, don't you guys really have no sense of etiquette and politeness? First one BG fan asks for gagging with a spoon and a 2nd one is being "highly amused" by such oh-so-funny comment on Jason's picture. Really a shame.
You kinda do sound pretentious. "Gag me with a spoon" was half-joking bud. I was a bit disgusted with his comment, but who really says "gag me with a spoon" entirely seriously?
Having color is different from having depth of color.
Could you explain this more in-depth for me? I'm interested. I'm clearly missing something, I'd just like to understand where people are coming from here.
haha. Look, I am not easily offended. Art is always subjective. Every artist and art lover has their own tastes and all are valid. I do appreciate great communication, and a respectful tone, but art is one of the "passions" and I know people can get pretty charged up about it....including myself...so no worries BG is just as close to my heart as all of yours, after all, my career got its start doing stuff for this universe.
I'ts good to meet you all btw..
I think that the work in game will stand on its own, and have some strong variety there that you all will appreciate for one reason or another, and if not then there are a lot more there or you can even import your own right? I know some of you will be playing with your old characters just for kicks, and hopefully some of the new ones open up some doors to even more imagination and fun. If you can look at a character and imagine stories about them, or see in your mind how they would kick ass or be a strong leader or be your only choice to save (or burn) the realm, so to speak, then I have reached my goal.
Given the amount of time you all spend on making the characters (me too), and the investment of time, they needed to be as good as I could do. I really did try my best. No matter if personal taste varies (I cannot make everyone happy all the time right?), the intent to do the best possible work was there and that should be evident in the work.
As far as the cropping of heads, that was done on purpose. For example, if it is a heroic male ranger, i moved him up in the format so he had some height, where as if it were one of the "height-challenged" but equally awesome races, then I pushed them down the format a bit, so their heads are lower in the picture. This has the effect of giving a feeling that the smaller characters really are a bit smaller, even if they are still painted in a heroic style. Artists have used such techniques for centuries, and it helps suggest subtle differences in character too. The difference between looking slightly down at a character and slightly up at them can give off a totally different impression, and that impression is carefully chosen for each image.
Anyway...I could talk about art all day, so I will be quiet now
And to clarify...adding mood that is missing from the portraits in the game....with those words, I meant that there are moods not covered by the set that exists. There are character flavors in the new set that ADD on to the range of moods there in the existing images. There is plenty of mood in the existing portraits. I did not want to make the same moods, as if someone wants a certain feel, a certain race/class/alignment etc...then having more options is a good thing. That was the goal...increase the range of options there for you all, to give you the best possible choices for characters once you play.
And to clarify...adding mood that is missing from the portraits in the game....with those words, I meant that there are moods not covered by the set that exists. There are character flavors in the new set that ADD on to the range of moods there in the existing images. There is plenty of mood in the existing portraits. I did not want to make the same moods, as if someone wants a certain feel, a certain race/class/alignment etc...then having more options is a good thing. That was the goal...increase the range of options there for you all, to give you the best possible choices for characters once you play.
Ahh cool, that makes sense. Adding different moods to your different portraits ... more variety. Nice!
Funny how you put up with my internet rage better than others in this thread even though it was pointed at you. Thanks for that.
I see many here say that Jason Manley's portrait style isn't fitting to BG:EE, that it is too IWD-ish..
I just gotta say I disagree completely ! The portraits in IWD made by Manley was, and still is the best I have ever seen by a long mile. I'm thrilled that he was hired to do BG:EE portraits and i really hope he will do the portraits for BG2:EE as well, and even IWD:EE if that is ever made. And what does it matter with the style as long as the portraits are good ?
As for the 2 portraits we have seen so far, I'm not that eXcited by the female barbarian, but the other one, of the "african" is awesome and indeed typical Jason Manley style, which is great. Looking forward to see more portraits !
The more I look at the sample portrait the more I grow to love the art style you chose for it, the visible brush-strokes, the splashes of color, the portrait gradually losing in level of detail the farther you go from the face, drawing attention to her expression. I always find it so amazing to be able to suggest a "rough painting" with digital media.
It gave me a new impulse to work on my drawing and I tried to see if I could do the same... well... ...the first result doesn't begin to compare but I won't give up. I can't wait to see the rest of the portraits from the pack. Pleeease tell me you made a lady gnome among them.
I agree that the art style you chose is more similar to that of Icewind Dale than the original Baldur's Gate art, but I think that stepping away from the old one to this is a step forward. It's easier to suggest a greater variety of characters when they don't have to closely follow the human physique (iirc the original BG portraits were based on actual people ).
It's great, but i hope that the others are more in line with the existing art style. I'm going to use this in IWD2, but it would bug me how it doesn't quite fit.
If we could a set of alternate portraits for all of the Bioware NPCs (and, I suppose, the Beamdog NPCs) all of this quality and style, I'd be bouncing with glee. A manly bouncing, but still, bouncing.
I like the new art and the old. I'm happy to see new art brought, even if it's not 100% the same as the old stuff. Art isn't supposed to all the same anyway, so nyeh :P
@JasonManley It gave me a new impulse to work on my drawing and I tried to see if I could do the same... well... ...the first result doesn't begin to compare but I won't give up. I can't wait to see the rest of the portraits from the pack. Pleeease tell me you made a lady gnome among them.
Hey, that portrait would be fun for a Wild Mage or a Druid, perhaps :-)
Hey this is Mike Sass... I haven't paid attention to this project, but am now surfing a bit and stumbled on this thread. Just want to say I had to lol at Manleys comment of improving quality of my 15 year old art, especially upon examining the quality job he did on those 2 images.
The more I look at the sample portrait the more I grow to love the art style you chose for it, the visible brush-strokes, the splashes of color, the portrait gradually losing in level of detail the farther you go from the face, drawing attention to her expression. I always find it so amazing to be able to suggest a "rough painting" with digital media.
It gave me a new impulse to work on my drawing and I tried to see if I could do the same... well... ...the first result doesn't begin to compare but I won't give up. I can't wait to see the rest of the portraits from the pack. Pleeease tell me you made a lady gnome among them.
I agree that the art style you chose is more similar to that of Icewind Dale than the original Baldur's Gate art, but I think that stepping away from the old one to this is a step forward. It's easier to suggest a greater variety of characters when they don't have to closely follow the human physique (iirc the original BG portraits were based on actual people ).
Comments
The good, however, is the setting and 'feel' of the portrait. It also gives variety, so those who do like the style can use it and be happy. I'm just not one of that group.
Can portraits you don't like be removed?
The portraits were painted to be viewed game resolution and icon sized, not larger, so thank you so much for scaling them down and looking at them that way. You can see that the suggestion of shapes and brushy patterns will fall into view as jewelry or clothing parts when viewed at the size they are intended for use.
It is great to see everyone's thoughts. Thank you. To be honest, I have been so busy building www.theartdepartment.org after a decade creating and running Massive Black (then Brilliant Colors), that it was an absolute joy to get back in and paint these for you all. It has been too long. Thanks to Trent and team Beamdog for seeing this project to a reality. You all are in for a treat with the new levels and all the new work.
As far as the style, when they are shrunk down to game size they are much closer, but add an additional depth of color and mood that is missing from the portraits in the game. That was a purposeful choice, to broaden the options available, to add depth, and to improve quality.
I cannot wait to play this. I need a good break and it has been far too long since real RPG's were coming out like the used to. I am sure you all miss them as much as I do. Super stoked for the future as it seems like things are coming back again! Super stoked to see this project coming along.
Best,
Jason Manley
Artist
Founder/President
www.theartdepartment.org
www.conceptart.org
Brilliant Colors
Jason
Gag me with a spoon. The original portraits are bloody fantastic. I'm sorry that you can't see their beauty, but accusing them of missing color and/or mood? Mood perhaps, but color, heck no, they had tons of color and yours' have less if anything. Am I missing something here?
(Btw; if you actually DO read this; I do appreciate what you're doing, sorry to come off as disrespectful. And I know a lot of people will really enjoy your artwork in the EE, so, kudos.)
"Gag me with a spoon." Srsly? >.>
Dont get me wrong, I agree with you...but, srsly? >.>
(Just incase im coming off the wrong way, im just joshing you man,. maybe its cause its so late, but i am highly amused by your word usage.)
Personally, I like Jason's portraits better than the original ones from BG1. I'm reserving judgment until I see the rest before I decide whether I like them better than the ones in BG2 (I probably won't; I happen to like the BG2 portraits a lot), but I agree that the originals didn't have a whole lot of depth to their color.
Now I'm going to go hide before the hordes come to tear my head off.
I'ts good to meet you all btw..
I think that the work in game will stand on its own, and have some strong variety there that you all will appreciate for one reason or another, and if not then there are a lot more there or you can even import your own right? I know some of you will be playing with your old characters just for kicks, and hopefully some of the new ones open up some doors to even more imagination and fun. If you can look at a character and imagine stories about them, or see in your mind how they would kick ass or be a strong leader or be your only choice to save (or burn) the realm, so to speak, then I have reached my goal.
Given the amount of time you all spend on making the characters (me too), and the investment of time, they needed to be as good as I could do. I really did try my best. No matter if personal taste varies (I cannot make everyone happy all the time right?), the intent to do the best possible work was there and that should be evident in the work.
As far as the cropping of heads, that was done on purpose. For example, if it is a heroic male ranger, i moved him up in the format so he had some height, where as if it were one of the "height-challenged" but equally awesome races, then I pushed them down the format a bit, so their heads are lower in the picture. This has the effect of giving a feeling that the smaller characters really are a bit smaller, even if they are still painted in a heroic style. Artists have used such techniques for centuries, and it helps suggest subtle differences in character too. The difference between looking slightly down at a character and slightly up at them can give off a totally different impression, and that impression is carefully chosen for each image.
Anyway...I could talk about art all day, so I will be quiet now
Jason
Funny how you put up with my internet rage better than others in this thread even though it was pointed at you. Thanks for that.
I agree with most of the things you said. I will admit at first , the pics made me doubt.
I just gotta say I disagree completely ! The portraits in IWD made by Manley was, and still is the best I have ever seen by a long mile. I'm thrilled that he was hired to do BG:EE portraits and i really hope he will do the portraits for BG2:EE as well, and even IWD:EE if that is ever made. And what does it matter with the style as long as the portraits are good ?
As for the 2 portraits we have seen so far, I'm not that eXcited by the female barbarian, but the other one, of the "african" is awesome and indeed typical Jason Manley style, which is great. Looking forward to see more portraits !
The more I look at the sample portrait the more I grow to love the art style you chose for it, the visible brush-strokes, the splashes of color, the portrait gradually losing in level of detail the farther you go from the face, drawing attention to her expression. I always find it so amazing to be able to suggest a "rough painting" with digital media.
It gave me a new impulse to work on my drawing and I tried to see if I could do the same... well...
...the first result doesn't begin to compare but I won't give up.
I agree that the art style you chose is more similar to that of Icewind Dale than the original Baldur's Gate art, but I think that stepping away from the old one to this is a step forward.
A manly bouncing, but still, bouncing.